Pennington Hot Air Balloon Championship

I've never been to a balloon festival before and i heard about it from http://www.meetup.com/louisianasocietyofdigitalphotographers/. Ive been trying to meet other photographers in the area but because of traffic and travel distance i still have not met anyone. We were stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes and missed the meet up time by a long shot.
  We arrived in time to watch the balloonist unpack their equipment and prepare for the nights activities.

I have seen balloons on TV and print but never in person and i was amazed at the size and the heat from the torch's.

I stood between a couple of the balloons as they filled with air and started to stand up and it was like being in some crazy movie with a feeling of being consumed by the silent giants.

I  think my inner child made an appearance because when the torch's started going i spent a lot of time watching and taking shots of all the flames.

The balloons make great subjects to photograph with all those great bright colors.
Once it got dark they did what is called a "Balloon Glow" where they light up all the balloons at once.

So I'll leave you with this, if you get the chance to go to a balloon fest please do i think you will enjoy it.